Friday, January 18, 2008

Strawberry Shortcake: Sweet Dreams Movie


I have this strange obsession with the revamped Strawberry Shortcake, have I mentioned this? I know that each DVD will just make my head hurt, but I'm still obsessed with watching them all.
After being in my queue for a good long while, the CGI movie finally arrived, and while it was mostly just more of the same from the regular animated episodes, there are a few things I want to comment on.
  • The abundant use of fridge logic bugged me. I mean, it's never really explained why Raspberry Torte doesn't get good dreams, or why the Pieman never got dreams at all, or how he and Sour Grapes even got to the Land of Dreams in the first place. I mean, I think the penultimate scene indicates that it was all just a dream, sure, but still, it bugs me.
  • What is it with Strawberry hijacking her friends' songs? Here she takes over Ginger Snap's song about machines, but she's also changed Orange Blossom's song about flowers in the first episode, invaded Peppermint Fizz's diatribe against Rainbow Sherbert in "The Costume Party," and who knows what other songs in the episodes I haven't seen.
  • The CGI itself looked kinda weird, especially for the characters that were originally 2D, although the original characters fared a little better. That said, I found the textures on everything to be simply amazing! Raspberry Torte's hair really stood out, but it was interesting to see all the clothes looking like they're really made of cloth and denim.
  • Take off the hats, and everyone is so cute! Why couldn't they have stayed in their pajamas to go to the land of dreams?
  • I'm sorry, but the Dreambuilders look like elves, the Sandman looked like Santa, and the whole Dream Factory just had this vibe of Santa's Workshop.
  • The Pieman's song sorta reminded me of "Pick a Pocket or Two" from Oliver!, oddly enough.
  • Speaking of the Pieman, what was the point of hoarding dreams, anyway? I mean, I feel like the writers forgot to rewrite his plan, or something.
  • I didn't like a lot of the songs when they started, but by the end, they were kinda catchy.
  • Where in the heck did Raspberry Torte and Lemon Meringue come from, since Angel Cake mentions them not being in Strawberry Land as long as she has.
  • How come Raspberry Torte (the surly jock) and Lemon Meringue (the ditzy blonde) are such good friends, anyway?
  • And why does the Pieman call Sour Grapes, supposedly his sister, Miss Grapes? Is he teasing her, or did he lose a bet?
  • Custard needs to shut up. Seriously. And why do we never get little dream sequence-y looks into her cat psyche, huh? I mean, her line "My favorite dream," coupled with the look on her face, was just begging for a quick scene of her imagining whatever that dream is (I'm thinking something involving a giant fish).
  • Angel Cake, don't be such a drama llama.
  • Where was Raspberry Torte during the Silly Dreamer number?
  • The whole "dreams you dream when you're asleep" and "dreams that are goals" being one and the same kinda bugged me in a vague way.
  • The Pieman's changed "yatatata" thing also kinda bugs me, but also kinda doesn't.
  • Dobbin (the horse) is awesome. I would put up with the most annoying character (which is saying something on this show), Honey Pie Pony, if it meant an episode of HPP/Dobbin romance. (SS-style romance, anyway, which would probably consist of the girls setting the two up on "a date" and then trying to help the horses get close, but mostly getting in the way.)
And that's about it. Once I got used to the CGI style, it was an okay movie, but it felt like there were a few scenes missing.

No comments: